Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, Donald Trump’s fiercest Republican opponent in Congress, was defeated in the Republican primaries on Tuesday, falling to a challenger backed by the former president in a race that strengthened her hold over the party’s base.
The third-term congressman and his allies have been positive about his prospects, knowing that Trump’s endorsement has given Harriet Hageman a significant head start in the state he won by the biggest margin of the 2020 campaign. Cheney is already watching. a political future outside Capitol Hill that could include a presidential bid in 2024, which could put him on another collision course with Trump.
Still, the results were a stark reminder of the Republican Party’s rapid shift to the right. A party once dominated by pro-business, national-security-focused conservatives like Cheney’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, now belongs to Trump, with his populist appeal and, above all, his refusal to lose the election. of 2020.
That lie, which was rejected by federal and state election officials along with Trump’s attorney general and his appointed judges, transformed Cheney from an occasional critic of the former president to the most articulate voice of the Republican Party warning that he is a threat to democracy. the rules
“We are facing a time when our democracy is really under attack and threat,” Cheney told CBS News on Tuesday. “And all of us Republicans, Democrats and independents who believe deeply in freedom and who care about the Constitution and the future of our country, we have an obligation to put that above the party.”
The 56-year-old Republican conveyed a similar message in his resignation speech last night, where he emphasized his plans to maintain an active presence in national politics.
He described Tuesday’s result as “the first step in a much bigger battle” and said: “Our work is far from over.”
Defeating Cheney would have been unthinkable just two years ago. The daughter of a former vice president, she comes from one of Wyoming’s most prominent political families. And in Washington, DC, he was a Republican in the 3rd House, an influential voice in GOP politics and politics, with a strong conservative voting record.
But on January 6, 2021, after a mob of Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol, Cheney voted to impeach Trump and vowed never to serve in the Oval Office again. He overcame Republican crimes and executions to lead a Congressional panel investigating Trump’s role in the insurgency.
Cheney is now forced to leave Congress at the end of his third and final term in January. It is hoped that he will not leave the Capitol in silence.
He will continue to head the Congressional panel investigating the January 6 attack until it is dissolved at the end of the year. And he is actively considering a 2024 White House candidacy, as a Republican or an independent, having pledged to do everything in his power to counter Trump’s influence in his party.
So far, it’s been a one-sided battle.
Tuesday’s primaries in Wyoming and, to a lesser extent, Alaska showed Trump’s staying power and tough policies ahead of November’s midterm elections. So far, the former president has helped install supporters who repeat his conspiracy theories in general elections from Pennsylvania to Arizona. In response to Trump, Hageman, a lawyer for the livestock industry, falsely claimed that the 2020 election was “rigged”.
In Alaska, another Trump ally, former governor Sarah Palin, is also expected to be in the national spotlight on Tuesday.
The 2008 vice-presidential candidate has been on the polls twice: once in a special election to end former Representative Don Young’s term and again for a full two-year term in the House starting in January.
On the other side of the Republican tent, US Senator Lisa Murkowski, a frequent critic of Trump, had a chance to escape the former president’s wrath, even after voting to convict him in his second impeachment trial. In Alaska, the top four Senate candidates, regardless of party, will advance to the November general election, where voters will prioritize them.
With the loss of Cheney, the Republicans who voted to impeach Trump will disappear.
In total, seven Republican senators and 10 Republican House members voted to impeach Trump in the days when his supporters stormed the US Capitol as Congress tried to confirm President Joe Biden’s victory. Only two of the 10 House members have won their primaries this year. After two Senate withdrawals, Murkowski remains the only Senate Republican on this year’s ticket.
In Wyoming, Cheney was forced to seek help from the state’s tiny Democratic minority. But Democrats in the United States, including major donors, took notice. He raised at least $15 million for the election, a staggering number for a political race in Wyoming.
But the makeup of Wyoming’s deeply Republican electorate was very difficult to overcome. As of August 1, 2022, Wyoming has 285,000 registered voters, including 40,000 Democrats and 208,000 Republicans. Trump received nearly 70% of the vote in 2016 and 2020.
If Cheney eventually runs for president, as a Republican or an independent, don’t expect him to win Wyoming’s three electoral votes.
“We like Trump. He was trying to unseat Trump,” Chester Barkel, a Cheyenne voter, said of Cheney on Tuesday. “I don’t trust Liz Cheney.”
Dan Winder, a Republican voter in Jackson, said he felt betrayed by the congressman.
“More than 70 percent of Wyoming voted Republican in the last presidential election, and he turned around and voted against us,” said Winder, the hotel’s manager. “It was our representative, not his.”
There was no indication that the recent FBI search of Trump’s Florida property played any role in Tuesday’s election.
Just eight days ago, the FBI seized 11 sets of confidential records from the House of Trump. Some were labeled “Department Confidential Information,” a special category meant to protect the country’s most important secrets. Republicans across the country initially supported the former president, but reaction was somewhat mixed as more details emerged.
Anti-Trump Republicans across the country applauded Cheney’s willingness to challenge Trump, even as they expressed disappointment at his loss.
“What’s remarkable is that in the face of almost certain defeat, he never wavered,” said Sarah Longwell, executive director of the Republican Accountability Project. “We were seeing the formation of an American national figure. It’s funny how small the elections are, the Wyoming elections, because they seem bigger than they are now. “
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
